09-03-2008, 03:22 PM
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| |  Do u Know abt Chess
Where did chess come from? The most widely accepted scenario is that chess appeared in India around 600 A.D., was adopted in Persia around 700 A.D., and was absorbed by Arab culture around 800 A.D. Just as chess is a difficult game, its origin is a difficult puzzle. We may never know the truth of its birth.
Our knowledge of chess in the Middle Ages comes from the literature of the period, which preceded the invention of printing and movable type. The first traces of chess in Europe date its introduction to sometime before A.D. 1000. The end of the Middle Ages coincided with the revolution in the rules which transformed chess to the modern game.
Near the end of the 15th century, the game of chess underwent a dramatic transformation when the powers of two of the weakest pieces were enhanced. The slow game characterized by a long opening buildup was suddenly a rapid game where checkmate was possible after only a few moves. The new game, quickly adopted wherever it was played, pushed the old game aside after only a few decades.
For nearly 100 years, from the mid-18th century to the mid-19th century, French chess players were the strongest in the world. The line from Philidor, to Deschapelles, to La Bourdonnais, to Saint-Amant, reminds us of a modern relay team, each player passing the team's baton to his successor.
By the mid-19th century, the center of gravity for chess had shifted from Paris to London. The Game of Kings became the game for everyone. Its popularity was | | |
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